Avalanche Wasn't a Natural Disaster, but a Death Warrant
The entrance to the Snow Valley of the Land of Iron, early morning.
The temperature was so low that spitting saliva would instantly freeze into ice crystals. A fierce wind, carrying large snowflakes, reduced visibility to less than ten meters.
Naruto and his group trudged through the thick snow, quickly advancing towards the steel fortress ahead.
Ahead on the mountain road, a caravan of a dozen or so people was trudging along with difficulty. The packhorses pulling the carts were snorting from the cold, and the drivers were wrapped in tattered coats, their faces covered in the frost of the wind.
Sudden--
"Boom!"
A deafening thud echoed from above the mountain ridge. Immediately afterwards, the entire snow-capped mountain seemed to come alive.
Explosive Tag Kakkō from the detonating tags echoed within the rock strata, the shockwaves of which ripped through the mountain structure. Tens of thousands of tons of snow, mixed with sharp frozen rocks, transformed into a massive white wave, tens of meters high, roaring down towards the mountain path below!
"Avalanche! Run!" Desperate screams erupted from the caravan.
The mules and horses neighed in terror, their wheels stuck in the ice crevice, unable to move. The old man and the child fell in the snow, their strength drained away by the overwhelming white death.
"Enemy attack. More than two hundred Explosive Tag, aimed at us." Kakashi quickly pulled down his Forehead Protector, his Sharingan locking onto several flickering Chakra fluctuations behind Xue Lang.
"Using ordinary people as shields, how despicable." Sasuke sneered, flicking his wrist, and the Kusanagi Sword was instantly drawn. A thunderous chirping Chidori danced wildly on the blade.
"Kakashi-sensei, protect the right side! Sasuke, burn through the left side!" Naruto Hand Seals and gave the orders directly.
"Earth Release: Multiple Earth-Style Walls!" Kakashi slammed his hands on the ground, and four thick, iron-like rock walls rose up, forcefully withstanding the impact of the first wave of snow on the right side of the caravan.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Technique!" Sasuke leaped into the air, spewing out three raging, high-temperature fire dragons. The scorching flames crashed into the snow piled up on the left, instantly evaporating tons of ice and snow into a cloud of white mist.
The two worked together seamlessly, but in the face of a natural avalanche, the snow waves crashing down on the main peak were still deadly.
The wandering assassins hiding in the shadows revealed cruel, cold smiles.
"Even if you are Hidden Leaf's elite, facing an avalanche of this scale, you can only save yourselves first. By the time you crawl out of the snowdrifts, the caravan will be a pile of minced meat!" The leading assassin formed a hand Hand Seals, his eyes fixed on the sky. "If the caravan dies here, Hidden Leaf's crime of assassinating civilians will be confirmed!"
However, the next second, his smile froze on his face.
"Click-click-click--!"
The clanging of chains pierced through the deafening roar of the avalanche.
Nine dazzling golden Chakra Chains, like nine raging dragons emerging from the sea, burst forth from Naruto's back!
"Stop right there!" Naruto roared, unleashing his Yang Release Chakra without reservation.
The robust Adamantine Sealing Chains did not attack Xue Lang, but instead plunged directly into the hard frozen rock deep underground. Then, it expanded outward like a giant spider web, tightly protecting the entire caravan, including the people and vehicles, in the very center!
Boom!
The snow waves, weighing tens of thousands of tons, crashed heavily onto the golden barrier, producing a teeth-grinding squeezing sound, yet they could not budge it in the slightest.
The people in the caravan closed their eyes and awaited their death, but they only felt a gust of wind sweep by. When they opened their eyes, a golden dome covered their heads.
"He actually gave up the best opportunity to break through to save those lowly people?" The lead assassin stared wide-eyed at Naruto below as if he were a madman.
In the ironclad rules of ninjas, missions come first. Wasting a huge amount of Chakra for ordinary people is utterly foolish!
"A good opportunity! He's been tied up!" A ruthless glint flashed in the assassin's eyes as he abruptly ripped open his cloak.
A snow falcon with a top-secret message tube strapped to it took flight from his arms, flapping its wings and soaring into the sky. On the surface of the message tube, the densely packed detonation symbols had begun to glow with a blinding red light.
"Trying to leave?"
Before the lead assassin could react, the snow mist beside him was suddenly savagely torn apart by a surge of violent Lightning Release Chakra.
Sasuke's figure appeared on the mountain ridge like a ghost, his Sharingan coldly staring at his opponent.
Lightning Release: Chidori Sharp Spear!
A blue-white lightning spear flew out of his hand, grazing the Snow Falcon's abdomen with perfect precision, instantly severing the Lightning Release thread connecting the letter tube!
The snow falcon let out a mournful cry, lost its balance, and spiraled downwards.
"It's no use! The detonation spell has been activated. Within three seconds, the letter and that bird will both turn to ash!" the assassin leader roared through gritted teeth. "You won't get a single piece of evidence!"
"One."
Sasuke ignored his barking and simply coldly stated a number.
"Two."
The letter tube in mid-air emitted a bright red light, and a destructive Chakra was about to explode.
At this critical moment, a Yellow Flash streaked across the sky without warning.
"Whoosh!"
Naruto appeared out of thin air in the path of the falling snow falcon and firmly grasped the scorching hot letter tube with one hand.
Flying Thunder God Technique!
"Three seconds? That's too long. I'll only need one second." Naruto's lips curled into an arrogant smile.
Pure Yang Release Chakra surged forth from his palm, violently pouring into the sealing patterns on the surface of the letter tube.
"Laugh--"
Like a bucket of ice water poured over someone's head, the red spell that was about to explode dimmed and extinguished instantly under the domineering suppression of Yang Release, leaving not even a spark.
The assassin leader was struck dumb, as if his blood had been frozen solid in that instant.
The meticulously planned avalanche attack was thwarted head-on.
The insidious scheme to use civilians as human shields was perfectly neutralized by the Adamantine Sealing Chains.
Even their last trump card was extinguished by the opponent's bare hands.
This is an utterly unreasonable monster!
"Retreat! Scatter and run!" The assassin leader, terrified, immediately gave the order to retreat.
He completely disregarded his other men and turned to run wildly towards the edge of the cliff. If he could jump into the bottomless, snow-covered canyon below and use the terrain for cover, he would still have a sliver of hope.
Two steps, one step!
He leaped off the cliff, his body escaping the precipice, plummeting rapidly against the biting wind, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
No matter how strong the people of Hidden Leaf are, it's impossible for them to accurately track a target in a deep valley where visibility is obstructed.
However, he had only fallen less than twenty meters when...
A face with a bright yet cold smile appeared in front of him without warning.
Naruto had somehow already positioned himself on a protruding rock below the cliff, tossing the letter tube in his hand as he looked down at the assassin who was freefalling.
"You think you can just jump and avoid paying back your debts?" Naruto's voice pierced through the wind and snow, striking the assassin's eardrums precisely.
"No--!"
The assassin let out a desperate roar, attempting to Hand Seals in mid-air.
Naruto's eyes turned cold, and he swung his right leg up, creating a violent gust of air, which struck the assassin hard in the chest.
"Bang!"
The assassin's sternum caved in instantly, and he flew backward like a cannonball, crashing heavily back onto the frozen ground at the top of the cliff, spitting out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs.
On the ridge, Sasuke had already taken down the other assassins, and blood was still dripping from the tip of his Kusanagi Sword.
Naruto stepped over the rock wall, took a few steps back to the top of the cliff, walked up to the dying assassin leader, and stepped on his broken bones.
"Tell me, what kind of trap did that coward Obito in the meeting hall?" Naruto's voice was calm, yet it carried a suffocating sense of oppression.
The assassin leader convulsed in pain, his eyes filled with terror. "I... I don't know... I was only responsible for intercepting the letter and creating a disturbance at the border..."
Naruto, too lazy to waste words, instantly turned his eyes into a deep purple-gold color.
The powerful activation of the Great Evolution Divine Soul Art shattered the opponent's fragile mental defenses.
A vast amount of fragmented memories flooded into Naruto's mind. Two seconds later, Naruto severed the Soul Search, his eyes turning completely cold.
"What do you mean?" Kakashi stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the corpse on the ground.
"That Obito, with a forged ultimatum, has already entered the meeting hall." Naruto tossed the letter in his hand and sneered. "He told Mifune that we're going to take over the Land of Iron force. The meeting hall probably already sees us as their number one enemy."
Sasuke sheathed his sword, his eyes sharp as knives. "Since they like to play dirty tricks, let's just charge in."
"No." Naruto turned his head and looked at the towering steel fortress in the distance amidst the wind and snow, a fierce fighting spirit burning in his eyes.
"We're here to set the rules." Naruto clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking like popping beans. "If they can't understand human language, then I'll teach them what the rules of the Uzumaki Clan are!"
Just then, Naruto's Chakra suddenly issued a severe warning.
From the direction of the Land of Iron fortress, an extremely large, cold, and destructive Chakra was rising into the sky without any restraint!
That wasn't Obito; it was absolute terror from another era!
"Looks like we not only found masks in the meeting hall, but also dug up an old ancestor." Naruto grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth.
The Five Kage Summit: the real storm has only just begun.